The hungry pack of vulture like dogs having swept past me, howling
from every throat, dashed towards six or seven bodies which the
soldiers were removing for burial in the deep hole they had excavated.
The men stood their ground for a moment and then fled. The fierce
brutes pounced upon the dead with ravenous cries that chilled my
blood. The Colonel, who was upon his horse near by, shouted for
the men to fire a volley upon them. The discharge did not in the
least move the mass, though a dozen of their number were knocked
over dead. One of them which I saw tumbled over and over by a ball
which broke his fore shoulder after gaining his feet, went limping
back again to the human carrion as fierce for his food as before.—
Altogether it was a fearful and revolting scene and I never wish to witness
such another one. After several vollies, which was followed up
by a charge of thirty or forty mounted men, the dogs, (if dogs they
can be called) were driven off at a distance, where they sat upon their

[figure description] Page 013.[end figure description]

haunches licking their bloody jaws and howling at intervals, with the
most fearful cries of rage and desire, while the soldiers once more
proceeded to bury the mangled remains.

At length the rites of sepulture, rude and hurried as they were,
were completed, the Colonel made the sign of the cross ove the
mound and then gave orders for his men to mount and fall into
column.

I had been so much taken up with the scene I have described, that I
quite forgot, until this moment, my purpose of trying to effect my escape
to the Patriot lines. As the cavalry were wheeling into marching
order, I began to reflect upon my original intention. But a moment's
observation showed me the peril I should be in making the attempt.
I had began to think that it was my duty to return to the city
and share the fate of my friends. Even if I could effect my escape to
the camp of the Buenos Ayrean General, it would be like treachery to
my companions who, placing confidence in me, had appointed me to
act as a spy and ascertain what were the best means of quitting the
town.

These considerations fixed my decision, and I resolved to return
with the Colonel and his escort, and not think of joining the patriot
camp until I could do so with my comrades.

When I had come to this resolution, which ought from the first to
have governed me—but when I was so near the camp and so well
mounted to spur, it was a temptation—Colonel De Silva rode up and
ordered me to fall in along side of him. He looked very grave and
stern, and one or two expressions he let drop, showed me that he was
reflecting with mortification upon his defeat. I rode by his rein in
silence, the column winding on in the rear among the low hillocks
that covered the desolate surface of the country near the walls. The
dogs had hardly waited for the rear to move, ere they rushed howling
towards the place where the bodies had laid.

Our way did not lay by the road we had come, but we took a path
to the left to enter the city by a gate further to the East. It led us
near the `Campo Santo,' or `Holy Field,' a burial ground of large
dimensions walled with stone and situated upon the side of a low elevation.
It was the cemetery for the inhabitants of the city. A desolate
place it was. Scsrcely a tree shaded its white-washed and crumbling
tombs, and its walls were falling into ruin. Vultures sat brooding
upon the monuments, and dogs wandered about seeing prey in
the shallow graves. The burning sun shone down hot upon the place,
and the atmosphere was fœtid with exhalations from the putrid sepulchres.
But what was most revolting was the sight of human skeletons
with the muscles still cleaving to them, laying about in the `holy
ground,' and here a skull, and there an arm, with its fleshless fingers.
To crown this desecration of the dead, in one corner of the burial
place were `cords' of human bones, piled fike wood, eight and ten
feet high, with pyramids of skulls heaped upon the top. It was altogether
a `Golgotha,' a place of skulls. I asked Colonel De Silva
what it meant. He answered me in English that every year the bodies
were taken from the graves and thus disposed of, that the graves

[figure description] Page 014.[end figure description]

might be used for fresh tenants. The half-fleshed skeletons strewn
about, he said, had doubtless been torn from their graves by the vultures
and dogs.

He spoke with the unconcern of one familiarized to such scenes;
but I shuddered and prayed fervently to Heaven that it might never be
my fate or that of any of my friends to die in this country and be committed
to the Campo Santo for burial.

Leaving this horrible place behind us, we trotted along a stony path
bordered by thistles, which run parallel with the moat, and at length
came round to the eastern gate, which the Colonel decided to re-enter
the city by, as it was near his quarters. For a few hundred yards we
had the moat close upon our right, the walls towering beyond them
high in the air, and thronged with troops and citizens watching us.—
The moat was filled with dark-green, stagnant water, covered with a
slimy mould, and its edges lined with the most abominable filth. I
thought that its condition was sufficient to deter an enemy from attempting
to cross it even were it fordable. The draw-bridge which
remained raised until we came within speaking distance of the gate,
now was slowly lowered like a huge trap-door and spanned the moat.
The gates were at the same time thrown open and we trotted across
the bridge at a round pace and entered the city. As the last man of
our column entered, the bridge was raised and the gate closed. The
Colonel did not halt his troop, but riding at a hand-gallop dashed
through an arched way in a high wall which led into the court of the
cavalry barracks. Here they wheeled into line, and after a few brief
words addressed to them by him were dismissed to their quarters.—
Poor fellows! glad enough they seemed to be discharged from further
duty, for they had had a hard day's work of it, and a defeat instead of
a victory as the result.

I threw myself from my horse with the rest, and the animal released
galloped off to the stables. As I felt quite satisfied with my little
military experience in the Brazilian cavalry I did not delay making
the best of my way out of the barrack-yard. I deposited my helmet
upon the ground and placing my sword beneath my arm and retaining
my pistols looking to future use for them, I walked towards the gate.
The sentry seeing me thus accoutred and in citizen's dress, no doubt
thought I had been stealing the arms, and instead of letting me pass
out presented his musket across the passage and ordered me to surrender
the weapons. I understood him, little as I knew of Portuguese,
and very firmly told him in Spanish for his `Portuguese' that he should
not have them.

`You are a thief,' said he, `and I shall put you under arrest in the
guard-house.'

As he spoke he laid his hand upon my shoulder. I drew back and
cocked one of my pistols, and told him in as good Spanish as I could
muster, with here and there an English word by way of greater emphasis,
that I had fairly come by the arms in the sortie,—though they happened
to belong to a Brazilian dragoon instead af a Quacho—and that
I would keep them.

The fellow stepped back, and scowling, while his huge mustache

[figure description] Page 015.[end figure description]

moved with rage, brought his musket to the charge, and I believe
would have run me through if I had not coolly stood my ground and
covered his breast with the muzzle of my pistol. In these respective
attitudes we stood for full thirty seconds, I resolved not to surrender
my weapons, and he hesitating whether to run the risk of bayonetting
me, when my old friend the trooper, who had mounted me behind
himself, came up, with others, on hearing the uproar. The
first thing he did was to knock up the sentry's musket and then to
wrest my pistol from my hand. He demanded to know what was the
difficulty and why the sentinel was about to kill his `Americano
amigo.'

The soldier told his story, when the stout trooper made a warm defence
of me and my conduct. It was not altogether comprehensible
to me; but it produced quite a change in my favor. The soldiers
about looked upon me with smiles, and the sentinel gave me his hand
and shook mine warmly.

Nothing then would do but that I must step into the guard-house
with half a score of them and drink a glass of muddy sweet wine with
them, when I took my leave, in high favor with the be-mustached fellows,
half of whom, I forgot to say, were three shades blacker than
ebony.

I now made the best of my way back to the shop from which I had
been absent on this my first warlike expedition, no less than five hours.
It was past one when I reached the shop. Rairfax was there alone.
Upon seeing me, he exclaimed, between anger and gratification,—

`Why, Peril, where in the deuce have you been all the forenoon?—
I began to think you had got into some scrape.'

`Where is the old man?' I asked, with some perturbation, for I
stood in a wholesome fear of the bald-headed deceiver, and apprehended
a `blow up.'

`He came in after you had been gone three hours and asked where
you were: I told him you had stepped out and I expected you in
every moment. He swore a little and then, I believe, went round to
the other shop.'

While Fairfax was speaking the old man entered.

`Soh, you are here! Very well, sir! You, I see, think my time
your own. If you dare to leave the shop again without my leave
I'll have you thrown into the calaboose. One word of complaint from
me and you'd be arrested, no matter whether you were innocent
or not. They don't ask about such things here. I'll have you up,
sirrah!'

Here the old man stopped, pale with rage, and for want of words
expressive of his displeasure, shook his fist in my face.

I was about to make some quick retort when I caught Fairfax
looking warmly at me. So I repressed my resentment and smiling,
walked behind the counter. He did not say any more then, as the
old black cook we had hired came to say that dinner was ready up
stairs.

At night, after we had done the day's work, we four went all on
the house top to enjoy the cool night air before going down into our

[figure description] Page 016.[end figure description]

sleeping rooms. They had asked me during the afternoon to tell
them where I had been, for they all saw by my manner that I had
something to tell, and I had put them off till evening. Now, beneath
the starry skies, with a pleasant breeze from the water, and seated
upon the battlements in one corner of the roof, I told them the events
of the day.

When I had done they expressed their regret that they had not been
with me, so that we might have reached the Patriot camp together.—
We then talked over several plans of getting out of the city, but each
presented obstacles that seemed insurmountable. The idea of getting
out of the gates it seemed useless to entertain. At length Radsworth
suggested that we should be on the watch when another sortie would
be made, offer ourselves as volunteers, and when we got fairly outside,
spur for the goal of our ambition—the Patriot camp. But I had had
experience enough in my mad-cap foray to see the difficulty and danger
attending such a measure, and opposed it.

`We seem likely to have such difficulty in getting out of the city,'
at length said Hewitt, `I begin to think, on the whole, we had best
stick by the old man. I had a talk with him to-day and he said he
would by and by give us a fair compensation.'

`I wouldn't trust him,' answered Fairfax, warmly. `Besides, I have
no fancy to be a shop-boy. It will stick to us through life as it is, I
dare say, and I am determined to quit it at once!'

`Don't you mean to go into the shop again?' demanded Hewitt.

`No,' answered Fairfax, firmly. `My mind is made up. I have
nearly a hundred dollars in silver. I will go and board at the Coffee
House, and be on the look out the while for some way to get us off.
By the time I have spent it, I will find some way of escape, or I
will let the Portuguese tumble me into the callaboose!'

`If I had money,' I answered promptly, `I would go to the Coffee
House with you. But you know, boys, how I am! I must stick to
the old man or be dependent on others.'

`I will lend you,' said Fairfax.

`I won't borrow,' I answered, `so long as the old man has a roof, bed
and table which I have a claim to!'

`I have but a little more money than Perril, answered Hewitt, and
I shall have to stick to the soda-pipe.'

`I think it best to try it a little longer, and let Fairfax look out for
us, we at the same time watching every chance for our escape,' said
Radsworth.

After a little more discussion of our several positions, it was finally
decided that Fairfax should go to the Coffee House, and while there
avail himself of every means to find a way of escape from the city for
the whole party, while we were to remain with the old man, but not to
relax our diligence in bringing round our ultimate purposes.

We then retired for the night, leaving the howling of dogs and the
calls of sentinels, making night hideous with their confused noises.

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